There Is A Huge Difference In Factoring Companies.

Here's How To Select The Best One For Your Business.

You might think that all factoring companies do the same thing- give you cash for your invoices. Well, that's true, but some companies actually go above and beyond to give you first class service.

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New to Factoring?

For those who aren't familiar with factoring, it is basically a fast way to get cash to run your business.

Factoring is Not a Loan

When you send your customers an invoice, they usually have 30 days to pay you back. Factoring companies will give you the bulk of the cash up front, sometimes within 24 hours, and collect the payments from your customers themselves. Once the invoices are paid in full, you’ll get the balance left over, minus a small fee.

Factoring Doesn't Require Debt

So how do you go about choosing the best factoring company?

Not all of them are created equal. Not all of them will give you the same level of service you need to help grow your business.

Everyone claims they have the simplest rate structure in the industry, no long-term contracts, same day funding, no up-front fees, no monthly minimums or maximums, etc., etc., etc.

We also offer these same benefits, but we GO THE EXTRA MILE FOR YOU that other factoring companies don’t.

Here’s Why We Are The Factoring Company You Need For Your Business

No other factoring company matches our level of superior service and offerings.

Financially Strong

We have been in business since 1979, are privately held, and have a proven track record of being financially strong. We have survived many economic downturns and in doing so, can help you through any difficult times you might encounter. We won’t go out of business when the times get tough, like some other factoring companies regretfully have in the past.

Part of a Vast Network

Every factoring company has a preference for size, industry, and risk. It’s impossible for you to know which company is the best fit for you. By contacting us, we can save you a tremendous amount of time by helping you find the best match for your business - whether it’s with us or another company.

We have a vast network of industry colleagues that we’ve built over 20+ years in the business. So, when you take the time to explain your needs to us, we can be the “one stop shop” to help you find exactly what you’re looking for.

No Minimum

Most factoring companies will allow you to pick & choose customers to factor, however they usually have a minimum amount before they’ll work with you. With us, you can pick & choose what to factor on an invoice by invoice basis with no minimum.

Our factoring agreement is like carrying a credit card in your pocket. You carry it to use when you need it but don’t sign an agreement which will force you into factoring when you don’t need it.

Transparent Fees

Most factoring companies are not upfront about their fees. We are different. We are totally transparent about our fees. When you apply, you are provided a transparent, no obligation rate proposal with the fee for your company.

Our typical contract term is 90 days and we offer price breaks for extended term contracts as well as volume discounts. Optional services include $7/ACH for next-day funds sent electronically to your bank account or $12/wire for same-day funds. Invoices can be scanned and electronically uploaded directly to our secure server for $9/batch. In instances when original invoices are required, we offer discounted rates with Federal Express to submit your invoices.

That’s it! See which other factoring company, if any, will be totally up front with their fees before they try and get your business.

Higher Advance Rates

An “advance” rate is the percent of the invoice face value that you’ll receive upfront. Industry average advance rates are 70-90% of the face value of the invoice. So, for example, if your customer owes you $1,000, you should expect to receive an advance payment of $700 to $900 to your account. Our typical advance rates are higher than average - at 85-97% depending on industry and payment track record.

Personalized Solutions

We are not beholden to Wall Street investor money. We are a privately held company and don’t answer to investors or boards. We are like-minded entrepreneurs who understand what it takes to run a business. We take the time to hear your story, learn your struggles, and put together a solution for you rather than relying on an algorithm to determine your company’s value. Who do you want to rely on as a cash flow partner to fund your business?

Dedicated Account Administrators

Many factoring companies have either a lot of employee turnover, a complex voice mail system that you get lost in or operate call centers where you talk with a new representative every time you call in. We offer dedicated account administrators to be your point of contact – who knows your business intimately, and can help you in ways others just can’t.

Industry Veterans

We have been in business since 1979 and have staff who are dedicated to working in this industry as a career. We are veterans in this industry and can provide additional business guidance and resources as needed.

Our Business is Your Business

We establish a mutual risk tolerance to avoid putting you in the position to ever have to buy back an invoice. We also keep track of each invoice and follow them like your own credit and collections department would. Once they hit the payment date we place friendly reminder calls and/or emails on your behalf and keep notes as to when it is scheduled to be paid, and send copies if needed until payment is received.

Payment Trend Alerts

You will have access to online aging reports and your dedicated account administrator is kept in the loop and given advance notice of any collection issues so there are no surprises.

Up-to-Date Customer Credit History

You get direct online access to your customer’s business credit reports, or you can call and speak with your account administrator – your choice. Stay ahead of negative payment trends. This is critical to running your business and filling your next order.

Leading Edge Technology

We make strides to incorporate the latest technology to expedite the funding process, such as electronic submission of invoices, online reports, online credit checking and other emerging methods to streamline the process and reduce overhead, which means lower rates for you. Most other companies don’t even come close.

Financially Strong

We have been in business since 1979, are privately held, and have a proven track record of being financially strong. We have survived many economic downturns and in doing so, can help you through any difficult times you might encounter. We won’t go out of business when the times get tough, like some other factoring companies regretfully have in the past.

Part of a Vast Network

Every factoring company has a preference for size, industry, and risk. It’s impossible for you to know which company is the best fit for you. By contacting us, we can save you a tremendous amount of time by helping you find the best match for your business - whether it’s with us or another company.

We have a vast network of industry colleagues that we’ve built over 20+ years in the business. So, when you take the time to explain your needs to us, we can be the “one stop shop” to help you find exactly what you’re looking for.

No Minimum

Most factoring companies will allow you to pick & choose customers to factor, however they usually have a minimum amount before they’ll work with you. With us, you can pick & choose what to factor on an invoice by invoice basis with no minimum.

Our factoring agreement is like carrying a credit card in your pocket. You carry it to use when you need it but don’t sign an agreement which will force you into factoring when you don’t need it.

Transparent Fees

Most factoring companies are not upfront about their fees. We are different. We are totally transparent about our fees. When you apply, you are provided a transparent, no obligation rate proposal with the fee for your company.

Our typical contract term is 90 days and we offer price breaks for extended term contracts as well as volume discounts. Optional services include $7/ACH for next-day funds sent electronically to your bank account or $12/wire for same-day funds. Invoices can be scanned and electronically uploaded directly to our secure server for $9/batch. In instances when original invoices are required, we offer discounted rates with Federal Express to submit your invoices.

That’s it! See which other factoring company, if any, will be totally up front with their fees before they try and get your business.

Higher Advance Rates

An “advance” rate is the percent of the invoice face value that you’ll receive upfront. Industry average advance rates are 70-90% of the face value of the invoice. So, for example, if your customer owes you $1,000, you should expect to receive an advance payment of $700 to $900 to your account. Our typical advance rates are higher than average - at 85-97% depending on industry and payment track record.

Personalized Solutions

We are not beholden to Wall Street investor money. We are a privately held company and don’t answer to investors or boards. We are like-minded entrepreneurs who understand what it takes to run a business. We take the time to hear your story, learn your struggles, and put together a solution for you rather than relying on an algorithm to determine your company’s value. Who do you want to rely on as a cash flow partner to fund your business?

Dedicated Account Administrators

Many factoring companies have either a lot of employee turnover, a complex voice mail system that you get lost in or operate call centers where you talk with a new representative every time you call in. We offer dedicated account administrators to be your point of contact – who knows your business intimately, and can help you in ways others just can’t.

Industry Veterans

We have been in business since 1979 and have staff who are dedicated to working in this industry as a career. We are veterans in this industry and can provide additional business guidance and resources as needed.

Our Business is Your Business

We establish a mutual risk tolerance to avoid putting you in the position to ever have to buy back an invoice. We also keep track of each invoice and follow them like your own credit and collections department would. Once they hit the payment date we place friendly reminder calls and/or emails on your behalf and keep notes as to when it is scheduled to be paid, and send copies if needed until payment is received.

Payment Trend Alerts

You will have access to online aging reports and your dedicated account administrator is kept in the loop and given advance notice of any collection issues so there are no surprises.

Up-to-Date Customer Credit History

You get direct online access to your customer’s business credit reports, or you can call and speak with your account administrator – your choice. Stay ahead of negative payment trends. This is critical to running your business and filling your next order.

Leading Edge Technology

We make strides to incorporate the latest technology to expedite the funding process, such as electronic submission of invoices, online reports, online credit checking and other emerging methods to streamline the process and reduce overhead, which means lower rates for you. Most other companies don’t even come close.

As you can see, we simply have more to offer you.

Other factoring companies don’t even compare.

And Not All Factoring Companies Can Say This:

More than half of our new business comes through client referrals.

So, Can Your Company Use Factoring?

Of Course! Companies of all sizes, from small privately-owned companies to large multi-national corporations, use factoring as a way to increase their cash flow. Factoring spans all industries, including trucking, transportation, manufacturing and distribution, textiles, oil and gas, staffing agencies and more.

Companies use the cash generated from factoring to pay for inventory, buy new equipment, add employees, expand operations—basically any expenses related to their business. Factoring allows a company to make quicker decisions and expand at a faster pace.

Unlike a bank loan, factoring has…

No principle or interest to pay over time

No debt to repay

Unlimited funding potential – no caps

Fast funding – no waiting months like at a bank

Approval is based on the strength of your clients, not your credit

Startups are welcome in using funding services

Some of the benefits you receive with factoring are:

Stop worrying about cash flow issues and start spending more time on your business.

No need to make monthly payments to repay a loan.

Receive money in as soon as two to four days – or sooner.

Reduce business costs associated with the collection process.

Win the battle against slow-paying clients.

Get instant credit evaluations for new customers.

Have complete control over your cash flow by deciding which invoices to sell and when.

Enjoy bulk-purchasing discounts or early payment discounts by having extra cash.

Improve your credit rating by having cash on hand to pay bills on time.

You get complete and detailed reports about your accounts receivable portfolio.

Provides cash for your expansion.

Provides cash for your marketing.

Improves your overall financial statement.

Stop worrying about cash flow issues and start spending more time on your business.

No need to make monthly payments to repay a loan.

Receive money in as soon as two to four days – or sooner.

Reduce business costs associated with the collection process.

Win the battle against slow-paying clients.

Get instant credit evaluations for new customers.

Have complete control over your cash flow by deciding which invoices to sell and when.

Enjoy bulk-purchasing discounts or early payment discounts by having extra cash.

Improve your credit rating by having cash on hand to pay bills on time.

You get complete and detailed reports about your accounts receivable portfolio.

Provides cash for your expansion.

Provides cash for your marketing.

Improves your overall financial statement.

There it is.

Everything you ever wanted to know about factoring. So what I want you to do now is to pick up the phone and call us. We're waiting to give you money! Call Us Now! We Will Fund You Fast!

Call us today and let us help you get the cash you need to operate your business effectively.

The large concentration of high technology engineering, computer, and microprocessor companies around San Jose has led the area to be known as Silicon Valley. As the largest city in the valley, San Jose has billed itself ""the capital of Silicon Valley."" Area schools such as the University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Santa Cruz, San Jose State University, San Francisco State University, California State University, East Bay, Santa Clara University, and Stan University pump thousands of engineering and computer science graduates into the local economy every year.High economic growth during the tech bubble caused employment, housing prices, and traffic congestion to peak in the late 1990s. As the economy slowed in the early 2000s, employment and traffic congestion diminished somewhat. In the mid 2000s, traffic along major highways again began to worsen as the economy improved.

San Jose had 405,000 jobs within its city limits in 2006, and an unemployment rate of 4.6%. In 2000, San Jose residents had the highest median household income of any city in the United States with a population over 300,000, and currently has the highest median income of any U.S. city with over 280,000 people.San Jose lists many companies with 1,000 employees or more, Sizable government employers include the city government, Santa Clara County, and San Jose State University. er's United States division has its offices in San Jose. Prior to its closing, Netcom had its headquarters in San Jose.The cost of living in San Jose and the surrounding areas is among the highest in California and the nation. Housing costs are the primary reason for the high cost of living, although the costs in all areas tracked by the ACCRA Cost of Living Index are above the national average. Households in the city limits have the highest disposable income of any city in the U.S. with over 500,000 residents.

San Jose residents produce more U.S. patents than any other city. Thirty five percent of all venture capital funds in the U.S. are invested in San Jose and Silicon Valley companies.In January 2014 Magazine reported that had ranked San Jose Sunnyvale Santa Clara metro area as the happiest place to work in the USA. The report cited a large concentration of technology jobs that typically offer a high salary and opportunity for growth, in addition to companies providing ""fun and innovative work environments"" as some of the reasons for the ranking

"

Information for the state of California

The economy of California is large enough to be comparable to that of the largest of countries. FY 2011, the gross state product (GSP) is about $1.96 trillion, the largest in the United States. California is responsible for 13.1 percent of the United States' $14.96 trillion gross domestic product (GDP). California's GDP is larger than that of all but 8 countries in dollar terms (the United States, China, Japan, Germany, France, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Italy).

California's GDP is larger than the GDPs of Russia, India, Canada, Australia, and Spain; in terms of Purchasing Power Parity,[103] it is larger than all but 9 countries (the United States, China, India, Japan, Germany, Russia, Brazil, France, the United Kingdom, Italy), larger than Mexico, South Korea, Spain, Canada, and Turkey. In terms of jobs, the five largest sectors in California are trade, transportation, and utilities; government; professional and business services; education and health services; and leisure and hospitality. In terms of output, the five largest sectors are financial services, followed by trade, transportation, and utilities; education and health services; government; and manufacturing. Agriculture is an important sector in California's economy. Farming-related sales more than quadrupled over the past three decades, from $7.3 billion in 1974 to nearly $31 billion in 2004.[107] This increase has occurred despite a 15 percent decline in acreage devoted to farming during the period, and water supply suffering from chronic instability.

Factors contributing to the growth in sales-per-acre include more intensive use of active farmlands and technological improvements in crop production.[107] In 2008, California's 81,500 farms and ranches generated $36.2 billion products revenue.[108] In 2011, that number grew to $43.5 billion products revenue.

FAST MONEY FOR BUSINESSES THAT NEED IT. Don't wait long periods for a loan

FACTORING AT LOW COST IF YOU'RE CAREFUL WITH..

San Jose Factoring Companies Articles

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""How a Factoring Company Saved This Owner of a Trucking Company Business""

Transportation industry plays a vital role in the economic scene. As people’s lives become more and more sophisticated as time goes by, making the most out of the limited resources is the concern of all. Say for example the proper use of land to get optimum profit and convenience or what is known as the zoning. It is defined as the process of planning for land use to allocate certain kinds of structures in certain areas. This method separates the manufacturing sites from the sources of its raw materials, the employees and employers to their respective offices. This made the transportation industry play a vital role in the economic scene. It is a primary necessity for businesses of any size and of any type. It does not just transport raw materials to the manufacturers but also bring finished products into our every door.

Investing in a business which plays a vital role in the current economic scene is a thing that every investor should not think twice about. But business does not work that easy. The big question is, how you are going to survive the most challenging phase of establishing a business – the start. Starting a business requires a capital. If you now have enough money for capital, you can now start your business and since you are investing in a very promising type of business, finding customers is not a problem. The problem is, what if you found bad ones. Even if your customers are also managing a business and expecting cashflow, which does not guarantee that they would pay you up to date because some businesses are just ill-managed. For the business to survive, the most important thing that you would be doing is funding your operational cost – make payrolls, fuel, maintenance - it should rely on cashflow, but since things like mentioned above is very common, some business owners would resort for a loan. But that does not solve the problem of getting your receivables paid on time. As a business owner, you cannot afford the time it takes to collect the receivables, while trying to make your business grow.

Mr. Paul, an owner of a small trucking company experienced the same kinds of problems and shared how he managed to survive. “I just released my head from the stress of how am I going to get my receivables, and focused on making the business grow…”

Mr. Paul just got his retirement fee from a big trucking company for almost forty years and was thinking on how to double his money in the shortest time possible. Seeing a small trucking company as a business of great potential and is a business that he knows. When he was still driving a truck, he was fascinated by how much money the company is making. He has also never experienced a delay in his salary. When he decided to invest his retirement fee in establishing a small trucking company, everything was just according to what he expected. He started with a single truck from his home. He started with just a few clients, the ones he knew already and never missed one deadline and kept freight damage as minimal as possible. Because of his outstanding services he started to get referrals and had more work than he can handle. From then, he started to expand, bought more trucks, hired more personnel. Using the knowledge he acquired from the company that he had served for a very long time, and dedication to his work, his little business grew in a rate that he had never imagined. The business is now requiring a more strategic plan and when Mr. Paul thought that everything was going very well, he encountered problems that he failed to foresee.

He had customers that made him wait for weeks or even months before paying. Since his little business is rapidly growing, his operational cost is also growing . This is a problem that he never knew and never observed in his entire career as a driver of a trucking company since he was never in an administration role. He was at the verge of breaking down, his business is losing money, growing too fast, not big enough has to rely cashflow to keep up to his fast growing business. He had to make his payroll, pay his suppliers, maintenance and fill his orders. Mr. Paul thought of going to bank and apply for a loan but was denied. “Maybe because I had a bad personal credit...haha”

Mr. Paul thought of declaring bankruptcy because of the stress that he never imagined he will be handling. He had to think of how to manage his business and at the same time, how will he keep the business alive by thinking of a solution on how is he going to deal with his receivables.

“You know that time, I, I, I just don’t know what to do... I felt that as the business kept growing and growing, I become more and more incompetent. Then suddenly, a hero came along... Just at the nick of time. “

Then a close friend of his introduced him to a factoring company and everything turned out just fine. So what is this factoring company then? What does it do? How did it save Mr. Paul’s business?

Well, this is how it works, Mr. Paul sells his invoices or receivables to a factoring company at a discount and not in an amount where he can no longer make a profit. The factoring company will then be the one collecting the invoices of Mr. Paul’s business from his customers. Say for example, Paul still has 100 dollars to collect from one of his customers. He then sells it to the factoring company at a lesser price, say 90 dollars. The factoring company will now be the one who is going to get the 100 dollars collectible from Paul’s customer.

The factoring company immediately gave Mr. Paul the cashflow he needed. He now has instant customer credit checks. He can rest well and likes doing business with companies that pay their bills on time. Save him from the stress of thinking how to deal with his collectibles, thus saving time and money. He can now focus on growing his business and keeping his customers happy. Increase his sales and cashflow.

The Factoring Company not just saved Mr. Paul’s start-up business but made it a big company now. It has helped Mr. Paul’s business, why don’t you let it help yours?

FAST MONEY FOR BUSINESSES THAT NEED IT. Don't wait long periods for a loan

San Jose Factoring Companies Articles

Healthcare Staffing Factoring

The healthcare field is arguably one of the most rapidly growing industries in the United States. With the baby boomers, the largest section of our population, reaching retirement age the need for expanding healthcare services has never been more pronounced.

At the center of this growth are healthcare staffing agencies that hire for hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices and a wide range of medical facilities. However, while business is booming the ability for these staffing agencies to expand is inhibited by the customer invoice system. Fortunately, there are healthcare staffing factoring companies around to help them in their time of need.

We asked the owner of a local healthcare staffing agency, Joy Reed, to talk to us about how factoring companies helped expand her business and provide a much needed boost at a critical time for her company.

“Hello Joy and welcome. I was hoping you would tell us a little about how healthcare staffing factoring companies helped your business, but I suppose we should begin by how you got started in this business?”

Joy Reed (JR), “Thanks for having me. I actually have been a part of several start-up businesses in my recent career and was looking for a field that would show a lot of promise. It was pretty clear to me that medical staffing was a big need in the healthcare field so I set about to start my own business. I had experience in starting up businesses before, so I drew up a business plan, took out a loan, rented the offices and hired a staff to get started.”

“So, you did what most people do in starting up a business. How did it do?”JR: “I actually got off to a pretty good start. I had made a few contacts and managed to get some business right away. This was really helpful because as you might know our clients use invoices for payments and it can take up to 90 days before we actually get the cash in hand. Around four months in we were facing a real crossroads as new opportunities opened up for our business, but we didn’t have the cash on hand to take advantage.”

“I’m a little confused. You say you were doing well, but you didn’t have the ability to expand your business?”

JR: “That’s right. The problem was back to the invoices that were making up wait up to 3 months before we had the cash. I really wanted to expand my staffing business to handle the new opportunities I was being presented, but I couldn’t because I was still waiting on the invoices to finally turn to cash. So I was asking my accountant about what could be done when the suggestion of a healthcare staffing factoring company was introduced.”

“Tell us a bit more about factoring companies.”

JR: “Basically, factoring companies purchase the invoices right on the spot so you can have cash on hand immediately instead of waiting up to three months. For healthcare staffing factoring companies, they will then collect the money from the business when the invoice is read to be fully paid. It really worked out for me because I was able to get cash quickly to add new personnel and even expand my offices to include another section of the building I was renting in.”

“I understand that factoring companies are there for many different kinds of businesses, including medical staffing. Was it difficult to get set up with a factoring company?”

JR: Actually, it was pretty easy once we found a company that met our needs. I just filled out a short form and they looked over a few of the invoices I had to see what companies that I worked with. It really didn’t take long at all before they agreed to cash some of the invoices and I got the money I needed to expand.”

“Could you tell me a little more about the advantages of using a factoring company like this?”

JR: “Sure, I was not only able to hire a couple of new people and rent additional space, I’ve been able to cash my invoices when unexpected bills come up or if I need to make a purchase quickly for a new piece of equipment. This has come in really handy recently when I decided to move to a new location and needed some cash on hand to make the transition. The factoring services are really quite good with reasonable rates and fast service.”

“What’s the differences in using factoring companies over getting a new loan?”

JR: “It is frankly much better than getting a loan because with factoring there is nothing to pay back. We are basically getting our own money from the invoices we’ve earned up front and paying only a small fee. With a loan, I would not only have to pay it back but with interest as well. Factoring for us has really been a godsend when it comes to making decisions about how to expand my business. I’m no longer tied down to waiting 2 to 3 months to get paid when I can take what my business has earned and get cash immediately.”

“I take it that you are happy with how healthcare staffing factoring has worked out for you?”

JR: “You would be correct. I cannot imagine how my business would have expanded at that critical time without factoring companies to buy my invoices. This is a great service that has helped me in my time of need and now my medical staffing business is bigger than ever. I’d recommend factoring companies to anyone running a business that relies on invoices if they need to get cash quickly.”

There is little doubt that Joy Reed has been quite happy about the services she received working with a factoring company. Perhaps factoring is right for you and your needs, be sure to search for the type of factoring business that works in your field so that you can get the right services in helping your company to succeed.

San Jose Factoring Companies Articles

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Discovering Trucking Factoring

Lambert Truck and Haul has been in business since the mid1980s. They've delivered goods for nearly every major industry in the nation and for 20 plus years, business was booming as they've traversed the country in all weather for all clients. During the heady times from 2002 to 2007, Lambert was a top rated accounts receivable mastermind of the trucking industry. Few customers were ever late on bills and those clients who were, were sure to turn in their late payments within a reasonable amount of time. Cash was flowing and times were good for all.

But a short year later, in the fall of 2008, when the United States economy took a nosedive and businesses both small and large began to feel the pinch on their pocketbooks, those that used to make their demands had suddenly and largely gone silent. Business slowed down. And worse yet, Lambert had noticed during the early part of 2008 that though the bulk of their clients were always on time with payments, the few late-bloomers there were, had seemingly started to spread this illness. And as spring turmed to summer and summer into the early days of fall, John Rondstadt, CEO of Lambert felt a chill go down his spine whenever he would look at the weekly A/R reports. The numbers of clients who owed him back debt were growing.

He had gone to his administrators and asked them what the problem had been. Were they doing something wrong or different when it came to reaching out to delinquent accouts? By his bookkeepers records, this wasn't the case. He thought perhaps that he was losing clients to a competitor who offered rock-bottom prices with little to no guarantee of quality performance and the folks who owed Lambert money had jumped ship and decided to leave him holding the bag. They couldn't afford to pay him their debt, but they could afford a lesser service, maybe. But after doing the cursory research for this and talking to friends in the field, he found that alas, no, customers of Lambert hadn't gone elsewhere. They had just gone home.

The situation looked dire to John Rondstadt. He had employees to pay, goods to ship, trucks to maintain and overhead that was almost unbearable when compared against the lack of funds that were coming in. At night he would speak to his wife Linda and shake his head in frustration. ""I have a bad feeling, Lin,"" he would say with deep woe.""Well, what do you think it is?"" she would ask.

John would stare off for a moment and then close eyes. He could see the fleet of trucks he had purchased over the years. He could see them traveling, bringing goods to all of his clients. But somewhere, a haze would form over his fleet and the vast number of vehicles would disappear to but a few. What could cause this ultimate death spiral of business?

""I know what it is,"" John said. ""I've relied too long on the profits I receive from invoices alone. I've let too many of our customers go too long without paying on their bills.""Rhonda could only grab her husband's hand and look at him lovingly, ""It's a hard economy. It might be awhile until things get settled up.""John knew his wife meant well, but he knew that he was responsible for too many people to sit idly by, waiting for the sun to peak over the clouds.

The next day John strolled into his office and was determined to sit down and make every phone call to every client who had owed Lambert money. Now, it wasn't the most efficient way to spend a day as a chief executive, what he really needed to be doing was to be overseeing all of the other intricacies of shipment and delivery and reaching out to prospective clients or retraining his sales team to do the same. Even though he was doing something to help his company, he knew he had folks on salary to do just this thing. Wasting money, wasting time - even with the best of intentions, John knew that he was in trouble.

After a half day of contacting debtors in vain - they dodged his calls or promised to call back at worst or made minimal interest-only payments at best - he was about to throw in the towel when his secretary Beverley knocked at his door.""John, can I have a word?"" she asked standing in the doorway.

""Sure thing Bev, come on in."" John leaned back in his chair and looked expectantly at Beverely. ""Well, I did a little searching this afternoon and tried to figure out a way out of this mess John."" She pulled a small stack of papers from a folder and set them on the desk before him. ""Have you ever heard of factoring?"" Beverley asked.""It sounds vaguely familiar. What is it?"" he said. ""Well,"" she began, ""Its actually quite simple really. So basically, factoring invoices would enable us to get paid on the nose for loads that we haul.""""Immediately?"" John interrupted.

""Yes, immediately,"" she continued, ""In a nutshell, it's pretty easy. We can have an expert account manager review our numbers and help us complete a company profile. That profile will also include investigating our accounts receivable aging reports, our existing customer credit limits and so on. Additionally, the factoring will help to determine the creditworthiness of our customers independent of their credit history with our business. It’s a broad view.”

“I see,” John said. “And then what?”“Well, after their review, and we’re approved for a factoring contract, we can negotiate terms and conditions. There’s a lot of flexibility depending on the business volume and credit histories. This company tells us what the cost will be to purchase factoring for our accounts receivable. We come to an agreement and the funding starts pouring out.”John leaned forward and reviewed the paperwork closely.

""It sounds too good to be true, Bev,"" he said. ""Now, now, I know, I thought the same thing. But really, they have guaranteed us experts that do all the legwork, which would free us up here to focus on our clients in good standing and marketing, all that good stuff. And they're flexible John,"" she underlined a paragraph on the paper before him. ""How flexible?"" he asked. ""They personalize the factoring rates so that the amount they are willing to take on is commensurate with our needs and our client’s debt. It only takes 2 to 4 days for this to be figured out.

""That sounds pretty good, seeing as we tapped ourselves out with bank loans last year to repair the fleet and money sure is tight. We need to keep business rolling as normal and every day we’re going unpaid, we’re closer to facing some serious problems in both the short and long term,"" John said.

He took a deep breath and looked at his secretary with something she recognized as hope.""Exactly”. I think this might just be a way out of the trouble we're in with these folks who owe us money.""John thought about this and agreed with Beverley. The clients who owed them money were long standing friends and professional resources of Lambert. They didn't want to throw away these relationships because they were having trouble paying their bills now. John knew that the economy had taken a hit and he knew that it would probably be a long time before things started to look up again. That unknown amount of time, if he handled these debtors incorrectly, could spell disaster for both of them. He didn't want to lose business but he also didn't want to lose any more money.

""Well, let me think about this tonight Bev, thank you."" Bev nodded, stood up and left the office feeling that she had helped her employer keep on his shirt and hers too.John sat behind his desk and looked over the details Bev had not mentioned in their meeting. What other issues could freight factoring help Lambert with? With his pencil gliding down the sheet he noticed that the factoring company could help fray the cost of fuel with fuel discount cards and fuel advances. In fact, Lambert could receive up to fifty-percent cash advances upon load pick-ups. As a man who hated binding contracts with no room to breathe, he was pleased to see that this factoring company would not make him sign a long term contract, would not make him pay any sign up fees and there was no minimum volume required.

""Well, I'll have to tell Billy about this,"" John muttered to himself.His son-in-law Billy had liked the idea of Lambert so much and revered his father in law for having such business acumen that only two years before, he had gathered the venture capital to begin his own transportation service company. John knew then what struggles Billy would face but he encouraged him nonetheless. With the faltering economy, if a big fish like Lambert was hurting, a little guy like Billy was about to catch his death. But, an antidote may have been found in freight factoring and John was soon to find out. A few months later after going through the entire application process and having the experts review his accounts receivable, credit history and statements, John found himself beginning to dig his way out of the hole his delinquent account holders had created for him.

They took on reasonable factoring purchase contracts and stopped spending their precious man hours scrambling to collect debt. They took that time and refocused effort to offering competitive prices in new territories. John looked back on the dismal months of life before freight factoring and almost shuddered at the thought. Had he missed the boat on this one, he probably wouldn't be in business today.